Lumen Gentium, Ch. 2 “On the People of God”

Lumen Gentium, Ch. 2 “On the People of God”

While all are called to belong to the Catholic Church, I was struck by the inclusive language in Chapter 2 of those who are connected to the “People of God” or the catholic (little “c”) Church by virtue of their unity of belief, and actions that display “love as Christ loved” even if they do not know or accept Christ (¶ 13(116)). These uses of grace for the benefit of others, not self, is the connection to The Way or salvation through Christ. (I accept that the People of God does not include “those people who persist in evil and desire to foster despair” (http://www.statucson.org/sites/statucson.org/files/LT%20Times%20-%20Summary%20of%20Lumen%20Gentium%20–%20Dogmatic%20Constitution%20of%20the%20Church.pdf). I recognize that at times I, too, probably “foster despair,” although I do not believe I “persist in evil.” The use of our gifts is fluid and inconsistent. I believe a prayer to advocate hope and not foster despair in others is called for in my life.)

While participating in a recent ecumenical service, I was asked, rhetorically, I thought at first, “Why is unity important?” I thought it was obvious that unity of and cohesiveness in faith promotes a strength in and display of the Church community that welcomes and invites all to Christian fellowship. This was a thought provoking question, actually. May a relationship or connection to the People of God be enough to gain eternal life? How can there be a unity of belief when the primacy of the papacy (even including collegiality with the bishops (Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church, 26-7, citing LG 22, 23)) is asserted: “…within the Church particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of charity (11*) and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it” (¶ 13(122))? While the Roman Catholic Church no longer claims to be the exclusive Church of Christ (LG 8), isn’t it difficult still for other Christian denominations to dialogue with the members of the Catholic Church that claim infallibility?

It will be interesting to read the discussion that comes from the upcoming round of the ecumenical Catholic-Reformed dialogue, January 28-29. I recently learned that Pope John Paul II invited other Christian denominations to express how the papacy “could exercise this ministry [of unity] in a way that would promote a broader unity among all Christians. A pope for Protestants too?” Fr. John Crossin was remarking in his article written during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Father Crossin is executive director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com/2013/01/seven-markers-on-road-to-christian-unity.html

Fr. Rausch well recognizes that the Catholic Church readily keeps the ability to “dialogue with the great world religions, and thus, with all the world’s peoples,” when it acknowledges “that non-Christians are not excluded from God’s salvific grace” (Towards, 32).